The continued delay in the payment of medical, fuel and transfer grants to magistrates and judges is a hindrance to effective justice delivery, Justice Henry A.
Kwofie, the president of Association of Magistrates and Judges (AMJ) has said.He said the situation of delayed payments of judges and magistrates allowances and other benefits had moved from bad to worse.Mr Justice Kwofie, a Court of Appeal judge, said these at the ongoing AMJ annual conference held in Accra yesterday on the theme "A Financially Independent and Accountable Judiciary; The Key to Effective Justice Delivery."He said although the issue of delayed payment of allowances to magistrates and judges was discussed at the conference in 2023, the concern had not been addressed."The question we need to ask is whether having regard to the concerns and dissatisfaction expressed last year, there has been no improvement in the situation.
Needless to say, and I say this with some sadness that the situation has not only improved but has gone from bad to worse.
Almost all allowances with the exception of quinquennial leave allowance are way behind schedule."He said the year has entered the fourth and last quarter but even the second quarter's fuel allowance has not been paid so we can't even begin to talk about the third and fourth quarter's allowance.The president of AMJ said he was worried that judges pay for the servicing and maintenance of their official cars and submit the cost thereof to the service for refund which takes months and sometimes even up to a year to be refunded.Touching on the security of judges and magistrates, Justice Kwofie said the lack of adequate security at the court poses risks to judges and magistrates."As for the security of judges and magistrates especially in our courts, it is virtually non-existent.